LinkedIn, the largest professional social network in the world with around one billion registered users, has become a crucial platform for networking, personal branding, and business development. Many users utilize this platform to expand their professional network, and one notable individual who has successfully leveraged LinkedIn for personal branding is Dragan Petric, who, with over 30,000 followers, achieves a million-reach with his posts on this network.

Building Professional Influence on LinkedIn

Petric, Executive Editor of the technology magazine Bug, director of three major technology conferences in Croatia, and an influencer with over two decades of experience in technology media, highlighted the importance of LinkedIn as a platform that allows every user to become an influencer in their sector.

At this year's MoStart conference, where he spoke on the topic "C-Level Influence: How to Achieve a Million-Reach on LinkedIn," Petric emphasized that the advantage of this social network is that everyone can be an influencer.

"The advantage of LinkedIn over other networks is that everyone can be an influencer and impact people in our sector with our knowledge, actions, experience, and creations. This allows us to achieve business and tangible results that would not be possible with the same efforts on other social networks," Petric explained.

Growth, Influence, and Personal Branding

Discussing the data, Petric noted that LinkedIn has become increasingly popular in Croatia, with 825,000 users, representing 45% of the working-age population. This number aligns with averages in other countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Interestingly, despite the annual user growth of 11%, only 3,500 users regularly post content. However, these users have significant influence because their posts are often seen among key decision-makers in their industries.

Petric also pointed out that LinkedIn stands out from other social networks for its ability to achieve organic reach growth. For example, a LinkedIn post can reach 36,000 impressions even if the user has only 10,000 followers. In comparison, TikTok's average reach is 19,000 impressions relative to 10,000 followers, while Instagram visibility is 60% of followers, and Facebook is even lower.

"For personal branding, research shows that if you post on LinkedIn 50 times a year, roughly once a week, your personal recognition will increase by 25%. This means 25% more people will know who you are and what you do, and will have a positive perception of your actions in your industry," Petric noted.

He further explained that if a user consistently posts content once a week for two years, they become an influencer regardless of individual post success, as everyone relevant in their industry will know who they are and what they do.

"From an employer branding perspective, management that regularly posts content on LinkedIn, whether on personal profiles or company profiles, will see about a 30% increase in positive perception of the company within a year. If employees regularly post content, there will be a 50% positive increase in perception within a year. If you manage to have employees who are influencers in this sense, who have posted at least once a week for two years, your company becomes an 'influencer company,' a leader in perception on LinkedIn, the most important business social network," Petric emphasized.

Strategies for Success on LinkedIn

Petric, who achieved 15.5 million impressions on his posts over the past year, shared advice on becoming successful on LinkedIn.

"Create content that is interesting, engaging, and useful. Be active in the first 90 minutes after posting, as this will significantly extend the life of your post. Also, comment on, share, and like other people's posts to increase your visibility," he advised.

Ultimately, as Petric explained, success on LinkedIn depends on consistency, content quality, and engagement with the audience. Those who regularly post high-quality content on both personal and company profiles can expect significant increases in recognition and influence, making LinkedIn a key platform for professional success in the modern business world.

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